Shattered Ones
by Post Alchemy
Summary: Edward and Alphonse have reached their breaking point. There is no chance of them ever restoring their bodies. ... So what now? A short and sweet AU concept.
1. Chapter 1

For a long time I believed we were broken... my brother and I. We were two broken souls from a broken family with broken bodies and shattered hearts. From my earliest memories, I can remember Alchemy teaching me that what breaks can always be fixed... with Alchemy. We tried that and all we accomplished was further damaging ourselves. Years have passed and we've spent that time trying to gather up the pieces of what we foolishly sacrificed. His soul. My arm and leg.

The truth behind all truth is this... there are some things people cannot mend... at least not in the ways they'd like. Luckily for me, it wasn't the loss of my limbs that made me broken. So much time has been wasted searching for something to make me whole. When all the while she was there... and with more than her beloved tools, she fixed me with her heart.

But like a stubborn child who refused to admit defeat, I carried on without her. With the artificial leg she made for me, I drifted farther and farther from her... from home. My pride... my determination... they kept me from her. And all the while, she waited.

It wasn't until Alphonse and I discovered that the only way to get back our lives was to take lives of others that we both decided our search was over. I knew at that moment it's what I wanted but I couldn't ask my brother to give up so easily. Alphonse, who had lost so much more than I, looked down at me from his hollow armor and very quietly said, "Let's go home, Brother."

I knew what he meant because it's how I felt too. And before I questioned his reasons I remembered something Winry said years before, "Even if it's what he wants most, how could he take that burden? Seeing the ones who died every time he looked at his skin?"

In truth, we continued our search for another way because we wanted to believe there was some loop hole, a sort of magic trick if you will. But after going there and back again, we finally concluded that in the end we were never broken at all. Just altered. Just slightly altered.

That moment changed our future. In the blink of an eye we suddenly had no concept of what tomorrow would hold. The choice was ours and it was as if we were suddenly freed from a burden. Some might say that we've given up but the opinions of others have never intimidated me. All we've given up is our running. We're going to live now. I don't know about Alphonse but I know exactly where I want to start.

I'm going back to the beginning. I'm going back to Resembool.

When I arrive, I'll hesitate I'm sure. With her I always hesitated. I was always selfish. But I'm ready now. I'm prepared to offer her my heart if she'll still have it. In high hopes, I'll call her name and she will come out to the balcony. Her fallen-star eyes will glitter down to mine, hair hanging like rays of sunshine around her face. Curiosity will strike her face as I gave her no warning that I'd be returning... as usual.

I won't be able to look away from her. The one who made me feel human again despite the limbs I've lost. She'll make a joke and for once I won't get angry. (At least I'll try.) Her laughter will nervously fade as I knell on one automail knee and ask her to forgive me. She'll ask what I did this time and I'll clap my hands together and transmute a ring and I will say...

"For taking so long to come home."

**AN: This was my very, very, very first attempt at fanfiction. It was written as a birthday gift for a friend of mine. There are three parts. It's just an idea that came about one day. What if Edward and Alphonse were NOT able to get their bodies back? Hope you like the rest. The POV will change in each chapter, just so you know. **

**P.S. I apologize for my shortcomings with 'Lost Heaven'. It's proving to be rather difficult! But I PROMISE that I haven't given up. There will be a new chapter for that one soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

"For taking so long to come home."

At first I was convinced that he was joking. Then I realized that sense of humor wasn't like Edward. The goal he and Alphonse set out to achieve had obviously not been fulfilled. My fine craftsmanship of automail still held him together. So what was he doing here 'wasting time' as he had so often put it?

When it struck me that his words were entirely sincere was the precise moment I noticed that it was a ring he was holding out to me. That's when I began considering the possibility of this being a dream. It wouldn't be the first time I dreamed of a proposal from that shrimp. The only difference is… I wasn't waking up that time.

As much as I would have liked to be romantic, the idea of Edward giving up his search and coming home to me and Grandma was just too good to be true. I could see the shock in his eyes when I shouted from the second floor, "Edward! If this is a joke, I'll kick your pint-sized ass!"

His surprise swiftly turned to anger. If he really was proposing, I imagined he practiced a lot before hand. He probably told himself not to lose his temper if I teased him, which of course I would. But the truth is if he had brushed off my insult and kept up with that sappy routine, he wouldn't be the silly, irrational Elric I fell in love with so long ago.

"**WHO ARE YOU CALLIN' A MICRO-SIZED HALF-PINT WHO DOESN'T EVEN HAVE TO KNEEL DOWN TO PROPOSE**?"

My laughter shut him up fast enough. I shook my head, still giggling and asked, "Where do you come up with this stuff, Ed?" Leaning down, I rested my cheek on my arm.

From the angle I was at, I couldn't be sure but his cheeks seemed to flush against his sulking expression. Although, it didn't take a brilliant engineer such as myself to recognize that I may have gone one step too far and hurt his pride. That being the case, he really was serious. And he really was proposing.

"Wait…are you really proposing?"

After my hesitation to believe him, my insult and whatever else I did to ruin the moment, Edward refused to give me his full attention. With a long sideways stare he answered my question. I never knew it was possible to feel so foolish yet so happy at the same time. Now if the idiot would just look at me.

"Edward." I called to him and waited until he gave in and drew his gaze back up to mine. "Welcome home." I said softly. Tears pricked my eyes and I couldn't contain the biggest, most genuine smile I'd ever bestowed on someone.

He smiled back and to my surprise, sprinted into the house without knocking. Staring through my cluttered room, past the door and into the hallway I could hear a ruckus from downstairs between him and Grandma for a moment. (Something about Grandma knowing Edward never grew up physically but that she would expect him to know better than to come barging into a house without knocking. That of course led to a spat between the two that distracted him long enough for me at least attempt to pick up my traces of being an 'automail junkie' as he so affectionately called it.)

As my luck would have it though, their feud turned out to be relatively brief and before I knew it his distinct footsteps clanged up the stairs. He turned the corner, grabbing the door frame as he whipped into my room gasping for air.

"Winry, will yo-…"

He didn't have to ask and hopefully the kiss I cut him off with would be a good enough answer. We were making up for a lifetime of lost affection. Neither of us wanted to stop once our lips connected. And so… I smiled into the kiss as I felt him slip the ring on my finger without pulling his lips from mine.

Welcome home, Edward.

**AN: I'd like you all to know that I take extreme pride in having personally created that little short rant of Ed's. ^^ **

**Well, as promised, part two! I'm sure it's a no-brainer but part three will be told by Alphonse. Get the tissues ready. It's about to be a bittersweet conclusion.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Let's go home, Brother." I said to him.

Although it wasn't what I wanted, I knew my brother and I could see it in his eyes that he was through searching. Our journey was over. Not ours. But his. Our journey together came to an end as Edward was swept by a revelation that the equivalence of a life for a life just didn't add up. It was a redundant trade that didn't truly solve anything. Neither in his eyes nor my own.

We returned to Resenbool and for the first time in many years I saw Edward smile and mean it. He proposed to Winry Rockbell that day and she said yes. I couldn't have been happier for them. After that day, however, it was clear that his loyalty and devotion was directed more towards his wife and eventually his children than our brotherhood. I didn't begrudge him for any of it. How could I?

He had Winry waiting for him. She could restore his arm and leg, his heart and his feeling of belonging somewhere. Everything he needed was within his reach and I could not resent him in the slightest amount for seizing it. Artificial or not, Edward's body was mended. That is why he could never fully grasp the burden I carried living as a hollow shell. A sense of completion is what I lacked and therefore, my search was not over.

So while Edward and Winry built their life together in Resenbool, I continued my search for a way to return to my body. Years went by and in the end it proved to be in vain. But for someone like me… there was nothing else to do but wander… to search. My love for Edward and Winry brought me home a couple times. In fact over the years, I would stay around for long periods of time before I left again. Every time I'd leave, my brother would argue and compare me to our father.

"Except I always say goodbye." I reminded him. It was true. I always said goodbye and I always left with the intent to return. So really, I was nothing like Dad at all.

My visits became more frequent after the birth of my youngest niece, Alanna. Edward said 'Al' was for me and that he apologized for her not being a boy. (My brother had five daughters, all of whom toward over him. … Talk about equivalence, eh?) But in Alanna, I found someone to fill the void I gained when Edward gave his heart to Winry. She was the spit of her mother except with eyes like her grandmother's and mine. I loved all my little nieces but he brought something back to me that I had forgotten… laughter, joy, contentment.

Perhaps it's just because I do not age, but the time moved along too quickly and before I knew it she too was grown. Alanna was the last to leave home and after that I began to stay away more often. Years flew blew, more than I kept track of and when I returned again, Edward had aged far beyond recognition. His wife had passed before him and his daughters had granddaughters of their own.

During the last eleven months of his life, my brother's condition of dementia kept him bedridden and had deteriorated nearly all his memory. But the night that he died, I was there. Holding his hand, just as we held Mom's together and watched the glow in her eyes fade. Since my return to his side, Edward had not once recalled who I was. Not even for a split second. But with his final breaths, he looked up at me with a smile and said, "I'm glad you're here with me."

Somehow… I was sure that he knew who he was talking to.

I wanted him to know I was smiling and through our bond I hoped he could still sense such things. His hand around mine tightened for a moment; not in fear or pain… but reassurance and I knew.

"Brother." My tearful call to him remained unanswered and when I looked up again his eyes fluttered shut and his chest went still. … Edward went peacefully. Even though it was technically expected (especially considered he outlasted the doctor's diagnosis by six months) it was still the most awful moment of my life

That was several hours ago. From the house I fled to the woods and came upon the river where Edward and I would play when we were boys. I've had time to reflect on my life… mine and his. It doesn't seem fair that I'm still here when he was always the stronger one. But his time came… and since I am trapped against my will to remain ageless and immortal, I've decided his time is mine as well.

The rocks I've gathered within my armor scrap against the blood seal inside me as I wade into the water. But it's not enough to release my soul from this bond. Slowly I begin to sink to the bottom of the flowing river. I'm not at all afraid as I feel the seal washing away and detaching me from this world. I'm cleansed of heartache. I'm freed from my search. I'm rinsed of despair.

It's painless and easy…

As my brothers blood washes off my steel I can clearly see his face – his smile – waiting for me at the gate. I reach out my hand for his.

"Brother."

_**The End**_

**AN: I am going to say this right up front. I know Alphonse was never the suicidal type. But given the circumstances and the fact that it's not even technically suicide… I'd say my idea wasn't too far fetched. Right? Maybe I give myself too much credit, I don't know. **

**Either way, I hope you liked this. Let me know what you thought.**


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